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JAINISM
63
the purity of the soul; the dirt or foreign matter in combination with the soul is removed.
These rules are the first step which a person desiring to make some spiritual progress should adopt. They are rules for beginners, and not for those who are spiritually advanced. If you wish to paint a likeness of some one, and the canvas is soiled, you must first clean it. These rules are as it were the cleaning process.
RULE 1
The person should follow some kind of business, trade, or profession, which is not of an ignoble or degrading nature. He should follow it in a just and honest way, and in proportion to his capital, or, in the case of service under the employment of other people, in proportion to his strength, not undertaking more than he can perform.
By following some kind of business the person can provide himself with means to support anyone who is dependent upon him as well as to support himself. Also with means to help those who are in distress,-a layman cannot do much good in the way of spiritual teaching— and by helping people in distress he removes bad character and generates good. Also he can provide himself with means to perform his duties without too much difficulty.
The reason why the business must not be of an ignoble or degrading nature is because all these rules are based on love and fellow-feeling, doing good to and not injuring For Private & Personal Use Only
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